subject.
“And then after class, we went with Deborah to the horse farm in Rock Ridge.”
“The guy wants to sell me this sweet horse. Her name is Blondie. And he let me ride—”
“She’s blind,” said Stevie.
“Right, exactly,” said Lisa. “Both Carole and I knew it the moment he had to keep talking to get her to come over—” Lisa’s jaw dropped when she registered what Stevie had said. “But I didn’t tell you that part yet.”
“How did you know?” Carole asked, stunned.
“I just did,” said Stevie. “It had to be.”
“Did you talk to Deborah?” Lisa asked suspiciously.
“No, did she call me?” Stevie asked.
“That’s what I wanted to know,” said Lisa. This conversation was getting creepy!
“Max must have told you then,” said Carole.
“He’s coming over here, you know,” said Stevie.
“He is?” Lisa asked. It was funny, but Max hadn’t said anything about that to her or Carole.
The doorbell rang. A few seconds later, Max and Deborah came into Stevie’s room. Max was carrying a bouquet of daisies. Mrs. Lake brought a vase to put them in and set it on the windowsill in Stevie’s room.
“We were just telling Stevie about Blondie,” said Carole. “I guess you told her about the blindness when you called, right?” she asked.
“We didn’t call,” said Deborah. “I hope it’s okay that we just dropped in.”
“Of course it is, Mom,” said Stevie.
Both Lisa and Carole smiled. And then, startled, theyeach realized that they hadn’t mentioned anything to Stevie about the fun they’d had calling Deborah Mom and Mrs. Hale.
“I see you girls have told Stevie about our beautiful mother-and-daughter bonding experience,” Deborah said, grinning at Lisa.
“As a matter of fact, we hadn’t gotten around to that part of the story yet,” Lisa said.
“But you told her about calling me Mom, right?” asked Deborah, the grin slowly fading off her face.
“As a matter of fact,” said Carole, “we hadn’t.”
Deborah and Max exchanged goggle-eyed looks.
“Stevie, how did you kn—” Max started to say, but Deborah put a hand on his arm and he stopped talking.
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing for sure about Blondie,” said Stevie, who didn’t seem to notice the sudden air of tension in the room.
“What’s that?” Lisa asked.
“The horse has vision,” said Stevie.
“No, she’s blind. I know it,” said Carole. “I mean, I didn’t do any tests like waving my hand in front of her face, because that would have been too obvious, but she’s blind. Of that I’m sure.”
“Me too,” Lisa said.
“She has vision,” Stevie said solemnly. “There’s morethan one kind of vision, you know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m getting a little tired and I think I need to take a nap. Do you mind?”
“Oh, not at all,” Lisa said. “We definitely want you to get all the rest you need. We’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay,” Stevie said sleepily, slipping down under her covers while her eyes closed. She was asleep before they were out of her room.
Carole, Lisa, Max, and Deborah were silent until they reached the Lake kitchen. Mrs. Lake was there making dinner for the family.
“What do you think?” Mrs. Lake asked. She looked hopefully at four of the people who knew Stevie best.
“Strange,” Carole said.
“Un-Stevian,” said Lisa.
“But—uh—perceptive,” said Max.
“Very,” said Deborah.
“I’ve tried to explain it to the doctor,” said Mrs. Lake. “He just doesn’t seem to understand.”
“Stevie’s not easy to explain,” Max said sympathetically.
“Even when she’s healthy,” said Carole.
And that seemed to sum it up for all of them.
P HIL FELT A twinge of excitement in the pit of his stomach. “I can’t believe I’m actually going up in your glider,” he told Uncle Michael.
“We’ve been talking about this for a long time, haven’t we?” Uncle Michael asked.
“It seems like it’s been hundreds of
“And then after class, we went with Deborah to the horse farm in Rock Ridge.”
“The guy wants to sell me this sweet horse. Her name is Blondie. And he let me ride—”
“She’s blind,” said Stevie.
“Right, exactly,” said Lisa. “Both Carole and I knew it the moment he had to keep talking to get her to come over—” Lisa’s jaw dropped when she registered what Stevie had said. “But I didn’t tell you that part yet.”
“How did you know?” Carole asked, stunned.
“I just did,” said Stevie. “It had to be.”
“Did you talk to Deborah?” Lisa asked suspiciously.
“No, did she call me?” Stevie asked.
“That’s what I wanted to know,” said Lisa. This conversation was getting creepy!
“Max must have told you then,” said Carole.
“He’s coming over here, you know,” said Stevie.
“He is?” Lisa asked. It was funny, but Max hadn’t said anything about that to her or Carole.
The doorbell rang. A few seconds later, Max and Deborah came into Stevie’s room. Max was carrying a bouquet of daisies. Mrs. Lake brought a vase to put them in and set it on the windowsill in Stevie’s room.
“We were just telling Stevie about Blondie,” said Carole. “I guess you told her about the blindness when you called, right?” she asked.
“We didn’t call,” said Deborah. “I hope it’s okay that we just dropped in.”
“Of course it is, Mom,” said Stevie.
Both Lisa and Carole smiled. And then, startled, theyeach realized that they hadn’t mentioned anything to Stevie about the fun they’d had calling Deborah Mom and Mrs. Hale.
“I see you girls have told Stevie about our beautiful mother-and-daughter bonding experience,” Deborah said, grinning at Lisa.
“As a matter of fact, we hadn’t gotten around to that part of the story yet,” Lisa said.
“But you told her about calling me Mom, right?” asked Deborah, the grin slowly fading off her face.
“As a matter of fact,” said Carole, “we hadn’t.”
Deborah and Max exchanged goggle-eyed looks.
“Stevie, how did you kn—” Max started to say, but Deborah put a hand on his arm and he stopped talking.
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing for sure about Blondie,” said Stevie, who didn’t seem to notice the sudden air of tension in the room.
“What’s that?” Lisa asked.
“The horse has vision,” said Stevie.
“No, she’s blind. I know it,” said Carole. “I mean, I didn’t do any tests like waving my hand in front of her face, because that would have been too obvious, but she’s blind. Of that I’m sure.”
“Me too,” Lisa said.
“She has vision,” Stevie said solemnly. “There’s morethan one kind of vision, you know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m getting a little tired and I think I need to take a nap. Do you mind?”
“Oh, not at all,” Lisa said. “We definitely want you to get all the rest you need. We’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay,” Stevie said sleepily, slipping down under her covers while her eyes closed. She was asleep before they were out of her room.
Carole, Lisa, Max, and Deborah were silent until they reached the Lake kitchen. Mrs. Lake was there making dinner for the family.
“What do you think?” Mrs. Lake asked. She looked hopefully at four of the people who knew Stevie best.
“Strange,” Carole said.
“Un-Stevian,” said Lisa.
“But—uh—perceptive,” said Max.
“Very,” said Deborah.
“I’ve tried to explain it to the doctor,” said Mrs. Lake. “He just doesn’t seem to understand.”
“Stevie’s not easy to explain,” Max said sympathetically.
“Even when she’s healthy,” said Carole.
And that seemed to sum it up for all of them.
P HIL FELT A twinge of excitement in the pit of his stomach. “I can’t believe I’m actually going up in your glider,” he told Uncle Michael.
“We’ve been talking about this for a long time, haven’t we?” Uncle Michael asked.
“It seems like it’s been hundreds of
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